By Blake Jackson
Farmers in Pennsylvania have increasingly turned to high-wire trellising systems for cultivating hydroponic cucumbers, drawing inspiration from the drop-and-lean methods commonly utilized for hydroponic tomatoes.
In this system, cucumber plants are supported by strings and trained to grow as single stems, with all lateral branches removed.
As the plants reach the overhead support wire, the string is adjusted by extending it further along the wire, providing more space for additional growth. This process continues as the plants ascend toward the overhead support.
Prior to the adoption of high-wire trellising, many farmers relied on umbrella or modified-umbrella trellising systems.
In the modified-umbrella approach, plants are similarly supported by strings and trained to a single main stem, with lateral branches pruned after one or two leaves. Once the main stem reaches the overhead wire, the stem and a lateral branch are allowed to droop downward, creating an umbrella-like structure.
The high-wire trellising system originated in the Netherlands in the 1990s, specifically in a greenhouse where the top wire was positioned approximately 11.5 feet above the plants.
This led to questions about the potential advantages of using high-wire trellising in Pennsylvania's lower-profile greenhouses.
To investigate this, researchers conducted an experiment to compare the yields of cucumbers grown using both modified-umbrella and high-wire training systems.
In the spring, summer, and fall of 2019, the team grew ‘Socrates,’ a Beit Alpha cucumber, in greenhouses at Pennsylvania State University’s University Park campus.
The study utilized a top-wire height of 7 feet and maintained a plant density of around four stems per 11 square feet.
Students enrolled in a “Hydroponics and Aquaponics” course assisted with the weekly recording of cucumber numbers and weights harvested.
The data collected over three growing seasons were analyzed using SAS’s GLIMMIX procedure, with a focus on yields and harvest consistency between the two trellising systems.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-diane-labombarbe
Categories: Pennsylvania, Crops, Fruits and Vegetables